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Hide in Plain Sight
Notes *Like normal hiding, once hidden constant stealth checks must be performed. Of course, in combat, hiding and then using sneak attack is an effective way to battle. *Sneak/death attacks delivered from HiPS only apply to the 1st third of the attack schedule (2 sneaks with 4 APR, 3 sneaks with 7 APR, and so on). *Hide in Plain Sight has a 6 second cool down after each attempt. *The Ranger's version of this feat may only be used in outdoor/natural areas. *Contrary to the spell description,True Seeing will not cause the target of the spell to automatically spot hidden creatures; even creatures that have True Seeing as an innate ability, such as dragons, will not automatically spot hidden creatures. Exploits Due to the method by which perception is handled in NWN2, it is possible for a character with this feat to get sneak attacks against an opponent with vastly superior detection abilities by canceling combat and hiding at the very end of their combat round and attacking right at the beginning. By minimizing the time between hiding and attacking, this minimizes the chances of the target getting a chance to perceive the target while it is hidden. This tactic effectively removes any counter to a character with hide in plain sight catching his opponent flat-footed for the first flurry of his attack. On some Persistent World servers with HiPS is to press the S key (or any other movement key) in the middle of battle, particularly during PvP, to take themselves out of attack mode and then use HIPS. This can be done even though the other character was attacking as little as a second ago and is still within swords reach. Unfortunately, this can become abused to the point where anyone with the HiPS skill can run away from an enormously-stacked battle against them during the combat itself. Counter Counter measures against opponents using Hide in Plain Sight may include one or more of the following: # Maximize/enhance the detection skills of Spot and/or Listen, either by spells (e.g. Clairuadience/Clairvoyance), feats, the bard inspiration inspire competence and/or magic items # High Strength characters may attempt Knockdown because while prone, characters cannot enter Stealth mode # Certain Area of Effect spells (AoE/attack) such as Acid Fog, Storm of Vengeance, Wail Banshee and Spike Growth may either 1) give an indication about the position of a hidden opponent, 2) indicate the presence of an approaching hidden opponent, or 3) disable them. In rare instances, poor AI behavior/implementation may force an opponent out of stealth, but this is arguably a bug - not a feature. # Use a light source, spell or torch # Elves possess the Keen Sense feat, allowing them to perform spot and listen checks more frequently # The Survival skill may allow the user to detect (hidden) hostile enemies on the minimap. # Finally, running a distance away from the hidden attacker and then using Detect mode to improve detection skill. Note: To re-target a person who reappears after using Hide in Plain Sight, just press the Tab button (target nearest enemy hotkey, recommend Space bar and use Tab as default action hotkey) on your keyboard. NWN comparison *Only shadowdancers had access in NWN to the hide in plain sight feat. External resources *NWNWiki:Hide in Plain Sight category:Class feats